I hate it when she does that. Why can't she keep her mouth closed when she skated ... well, not actually bad, but not on her normal standard? That "No apologies, but..." really annoys me.

Even if she wanted to keep her mouth shut, I think it's impossible since the media's been following & watching her very closely, and there have been pictures of her examining her left blade, showing it to Orser and talking to him about it, etc. etc. etc. I mean, it's not like she can ask whoever repaired it to keep it secret.

Well done with such a blade which went for a burton, she must be the goddess of figure skating.

She looked rather anxious tonight. But that makes sense with the broken blade. I am glad that she did well. It was good that the blade did not break further during the free skate. It could have been dangerous.

The first thing they would do going home would be to replace the blade then! I wonder if she visits Korea a bit for holidays before going back to Canada.

About Yukari's leg wrap; yes I think it's very unattractive but it also makes her jumps look underrotated, which is a problem these days. She's also not very consistent; that's why Akiko could give her a run for her money. I *do* feel Yukari should have medaled at 2008 Worlds. Yukari's olympic chances aren't gone yet, but I personally feel Akiko should get the chance... Japanese Nats should be a pretty tough event!

To me, the thing that makes the leg wrap more distressing than, say, a sub-par layback is that it makes me feel that any moment the skater is going to fall. I'm not an expert, but to me a less-than-flexible layback can still have pleasing line and be done to enhance the rhythm of the music (though when you see someone like Shizuka, it spoils you for anyone else--her ina bauer is to die for), and it's not actually bad technique. A leg wrap, on the other hand, is bad technique. It also seems to slow the jump down in the air, at least to the naked eye. Not only do I think that a skater doing a wrapped leg should be marked down, but a coach teaching a wrapped leg should not be allowed to coach until he/she has received retraining. It's not fair to a beautiful competitor like Nakano that she'll never advance because she wasn't corrected at an early enough age. Really, I can't watch her half the time because I'm sure she'll just drop to the ice at any moment.

On the subject of todays final--hooray for the medalists! I hope I'll get to see their skates. I'm glad YuNa won even under adverse conditions. It's great that Miki is now keeping it together. And yay for Akiko! It's going to be a thrilling Olympics.

(And I do hope Mao is on the Japanese Olympics team. Even in eclipse, she's wonderful.)

I hate it when she does that. Why can't she keep her mouth closed when she skated ... well, not actually bad, but not on her normal standard? That "No apologies, but..." really annoys me.

I agree. Her last three competitions she has made statements about the ice affecting her jumps, her skates being too tight, how a fall in the warm up was hard to shake, and now her blade had issues on Saturday. IMO, they sound a bit like excuses. I said it before, she needs a tougher mental game and needs to not get so distracted by little things.

So sad for Joannie. Now, everyone (most on these boards too) will count her out for a medal at the Olympics. She said she is going to start training like it's the beginning of the season again - she needs to just forget about the Grand Prix and train hard for Nationals.

I can't remember for sure, but she didn't have great skates at last year's final did she? I feel as if all our Canadian medal hopefuls are now underdogs and that will ease the pressure off of them at the Olympics - and will make it that much sweeter when they win medals

I wonder if she visits Korea a bit for holidays before going back to Canada.

She said she would not be back to Korea until after the Olympics. It's impossible for her to enjoy holidays in the country. They will not leave her alone. Canada is a better place if she wants some peace.

Originally Posted by i love to skate

I agree. Her last three competitions she has made statements abouting the ice affecting her jumps, her skates being too tight, how a fall in the warm up was hard to shake, and now her blade had issues on Saturday. IMO, they sound a bit like excuses.

The media is watching her with a microscope and ask her all kinds of questions. She has been simply answering those questions. Should she not answer them? I have seen two Japanese sports programs ONLY discussing why Yu-Na skipped her flip at TEB. They interviewed her and even Shizuka Arakawa about it. It is HER who doesn't want to draw attention to those little things. She is stronger than you think.

I hate it when she does that. Why can't she keep her mouth closed when she skated ... well, not actually bad, but not on her normal standard? That "No apologies, but..." really annoys me.

But, that's what really happened. Having the blades damaged on the day of the competition is a big matter! And she clarified that "she doesn't believe that the blade should be blamed for her performance".

Yes, she talked about skipping a flip at TEB because she felt something on the ice (she also added "I don't know, i just couldn't jump) Why? because journalists asked about it first. However, she still said later it was her fault anyway if there was any mistake.

At SA where she bombed her LP, she never mentioned about her skate boot as a reason for the failure. It's just that media pple saw her tightening up her left boot again right before the performance and "guessed" that it could've been a reason. And she changed her left boot afterwards. You don't change your skating boots for fun.

I'm just worried that you'll still hate if Yuna says 'I couldn't perform well because of my injuries', which was her 'excuses' for two seasons (06-07 & 07-08). For your info, she said she was in good condition at all the competitions this year.

I hope that you try to understand the circumstances and context first before reaching the conclusion just with some stupid Youtube videos and exaggerated news articles.

So sad for Joannie. Now, everyone (most on these boards too) will count her out for a medal at the Olympics. She said she is going to start training like it's the beginning of the season again - she needs to just forget about the Grand Prix and train hard for Nationals.

I can't remember for sure, but she didn't have great skates at last year's final did she? I feel as if all our Canadian medal hopefuls are now underdogs and that will ease the pressure off of them at the Olympics - and will make it that much sweeter when they win medals

Yeah, that would be a good scenario for her. I hope that the media knows her struggles and treats her like an underdog. But I am afraid that I highly doubt it. Ladies figure skating at the home country and she is THE one.
Joannie just needs to live with the hypes.

BTW, I feel it strange that Miki didn't even try either 3-3 or 2-3. So conservative.

Ladies figure skating at the home country and she is THE one.
Joannie just needs to live with the hypes.

Ladies isn't the most popular here though.Pairs was the first event to sell out actually! There will be a cooling down period for the press - the men's hockey team will be announced at the end of the month and that will take on most of the press and pressure . Our skaters have a good five weeks to train before Nationals. I anticipate that things will get better.

Ladies isn't the most popular here though.Pairs was the first event to sell out actually! There will be a cooling down period for the press - the men's hockey team will be announced at the end of the month and that will take on most of the press and pressure . Our skaters have a good five weeks to train before Nationals. I anticipate that things will get better.